Obsidian Eyes (40 page)

Duncan uttered a soft Gaelic curse. “Careful, cousin, or I might think the Stone is heating your blood.”

His mind replayed the bolt of heat that shot down to his toes when they kissed. Was it the taint of the stone that ran through his family? He needed to talk to Morag, his old nurse. She knew all the stories swirling around his family and the Stone of Coulags and the changes it made to the men who discovered it.

“You’ll not touch her,” he growled.

Duncan raised both hands. “I know she’s yours, I’m just needling you.”

Jared dropped his sword and returned it to the scabbard on his back.

Duncan looked his cousin in the eye. “But you’re not going to use her?”

Jared thought Duncan sounded a lot like an older brother looking out for his little sister.

She spars with a knife and words and she understands me. How can I let that go?

“I made up my mind for certain when I saw her at the bottom of the stairs last night. I can’t let her go.” Jared let out a deep sigh. If the effects of the Stone were responsible, losing Allie would be the regret of his life. “We’ve talked about it, briefly, but there’s other things to worry about at the moment.” He waved his hand at the airship with a wry smile.

“You could have
discussed
it last night, when you had the opportunity,” Duncan pointed out.

Jared shook his head, he knew Duncan wouldn’t understand. “You’re forgetting she was very drunk last night.”

“A drunk and willing girl? Not many men would walk away from such an opportunity.” Jared gripped the railing tighter as he looked out at the surrounding velvet night. “She’s not like other girls, this isn’t a one night chance to abuse.” She saw into the depths of him and walked a similar path, trying to find her place in the world. What would they achieve if they walked together?

“Well I’m glad you didn’t take advantage of her last night, otherwise I would have to stab you.” Duncan chuckled, before turning serious for a moment. “Allie’s a friend, so don’t stuff this up.” The smile returned to Duncan’s face. “And you do realise if you go down this road, it’s all going to blow up horribly in your face with Madeline and Aunt Lillian?”

“Yes.” Deep inside Jared a part of him relaxed, as though the chains loosened around a slumbering beast. Then he grinned at Duncan. “But she’s worth it.”

Duncan punched Jared in the arm. “Just remember I’ll be watching you.”

Allie appeared out on the deck. “We’re close and they want to put us down soon,” she announced. “They need us to go down to the horses and be ready. They want to get out quick and will ground the airship until after sunrise.” She gave a look from one cousin to the other but they said nothing as they followed her down to the holding deck and the awaiting horses.

The airship hovered close to the ground while a small group of the soldiers hurtled over the side. They affixed ground lines and made the straining airship relatively stable, so they could lower the gangplank for the horses. The animals were nervy with the swaying movement under their hooves, but followed their riders down to the firmer ground. Zeb muttered about using flesh and blood creatures when Thumper provided a superior ride.

Lieutenant Harris fixed them all with a stern eye. “Use the next few hours to get some rest and stay put until well after sunrise. You’re a good two hour ride from the location. We expect you to enter his compound at 1000 hours and I’ll be there at 1030 hours. Don’t disappoint the general by doing something stupid.”

“I can assure you we don’t intend to risk the life of our friend,” Jared answered him. “Either one of them,” he whispered, his gaze shooting from Allie and then back to the soldier.

The lieutenant stiffened for a moment and his lip curled back from his teeth. “That is a conversation for another day.” Then he walked back up the gangplank, issuing orders as he went for the airship to lift off and find her own spot to go to ground for the rest of the night.

With only their handheld glow lamps to light the way, they walked a small distance until they came to a suitable clearing to wait for dawn. Tethering the horses to a stand of trees, they untacked and placed their gear on the ground. Allie and Zeb settled the horses, while Duncan and Jared disappeared to gather firewood. Soon there was a small friendly blaze in the centre of the clearing.

Allie rubbed her hands together and held them out in front of the fire. It was mainly for light and solace and did little to chase away the advancing autumn chill. She couldn’t stop shivering as the cold of the highlands night leached into her bones.

“You don’t have enough fat on your bones to keep you warm,” Duncan observed when he saw her shaking.

“Come over here.” Jared indicated the spot next to him. “Before you freeze.”

Allie was too tired and cold to disagree. Skirting the fire, she pulled off her swords and satchel and dropped them on the ground next to Jared. Once she undid the buckle on the belt of throwing stars, she let it fall to the earth. She sunk down and settled next to him.

He pulled his saddle over to use as a backrest and shrugged off his wool top coat to drop around her shoulders and torso. Leaning back against the saddle, he pulled her close to his side, to share his body warmth, his arm wrapped tight around her.

“Won’t you get cold?” she started to argue.

“We’re Scottish, this is positively tropical for us,” he reminded her as she laid her head against his chest. “Any moment now I suspect Duncan will strip off his clothes and romp naked through the heather.”

She smiled at the image. She hadn’t realised how tired she was, but let out a deep sigh and before too long, her breathing changed to the deep rhythmic pace of the sleeper.

Thursday, 29
^th
September.

The prisoners emerged from the dank tunnel and blinked against the harsh daylight, blinded and dirty like moles fresh from the earth. The crowd roared and the guards pushed with their rifles and prodded the condemned to shuffle toward the worn steps. The wood creaked and groaned under their feet; the crowd laughed and peddlers sold sausages on sticks.

Her body trembled as she came to a halt. Looking out, faces melded together in a blur of pinks and browns stained by the tears running down her cheeks. Her heart pounded so loud it drowned out the noise of everything else.

Roughed fingers brushed her hair aside and the hessian loop dropped over her face―

Allie bit back a cry as she sat bolt upright. Dawn spread across the sky. Disoriented, she wondered why she saw only trees and shrubs not jeering faces. Her blood still thrummed in her ears.

A hand stroked a strand of hair from her face and rested on her nape, offering comfort. Her gaze flew to a pale grey one.

“Morning,” Jared murmured, his thumb making gentle circles on her skin. “Nightmare?”

“Newgate.” She swallowed and drew a deep breath of fresh highland air into her lungs.

Something flashed behind his piercing gaze. “I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe.”

Shaking off the fear, she dropped her head back onto his chest. “Have you been awake this whole time?” Lying in his embrace, a newfound sense of peace settled over her. She was exactly where she wanted to be, safe in his arms.

“Zeb and I have kept watch, you and Duncan have been asleep,” he explained. He opened his mouth to say something else, but changed his mind. Instead, he picked up her hand from where it lay on his chest and stroked his thumb over her palm. Raising it to his lips, he placed a kiss in the centre.

“For later,” was all he said, his voice thick with everything he couldn’t articulate, as he curled her fingers over the token.

They lay in silence watching the colour bleed across the sky until it was time to get up and move. There was little chatter as they tacked up the horses and strapped on swords for the journey, tension starting to creep its way over all of them.

It was a slow ride over rough terrain. Many times they were reduced to a walk as they descended a gully and climbed back out the other side. Occasionally, Zeb paused to check their bearings with his compass and nervously consulted his pocket watch to ensure they were on track. Eventually the ground flattened out. As the sun rose higher in the sky a break in the enclosing treesrevealed the grey hulk of an ancient castle up ahead.

Part of one side crumbled into the ground. The other side looked modified within the last few years, with thick glass windows and a watertight roof added. Behind the castle, they could just make out the nose of a small airship, tethered close to the ground.

Duncan let out a slow whistle when they all halted to take it in. He turned to Jared. “Did you even know this was here?”

Jared shrugged. “The area is littered with old castles, you stop seeing them after a while. This is remote enough I suspect only hunters would ever stumble this far. We’ve certainly never run across it, although it is past our border.” He referred to the boundary of the lands where he and Duncan grew up. “This looks like it was used as a hunting lodge at some stage, the rest of the work is recent.”

Four guards outside the castle watched their approach with disinterest, though Allie saw one go back inside, no doubt to report their arrival. They dismounted and turned the horses loose in a large stone-walled pen, leaving them to graze the meadow grasses growing high within. They approached the battered building. Allie thought it looked sullen, hunkering into the earth, dark and brooding.

Count Illyich came bustling out wearing a particularly bilious green and gold housecoat.

“Ma cherié,” he cried on seeing Allie. He reached out both hands as he neared, to grasp her arms and kiss her on both cheeks. He cast only the briefest of glances at the miserable Zeb, slumped between Jared and Duncan. “My, don’t you look like a little warrior princess today,” he said, on taking in Allie’s garb.

“Count,” she murmured. In a louder tone, she complained. “These boys have had me out all night in this god forsaken wilderness, you wouldn’t happen to have any coffee would you?”

He laughed. “For you, ma cherié, of course.” Taking her by the hand, he led her toward the old castle. “Take them to the work room,” he yelled to two of the bodyguards, who fell into line next to the three youths, guiding them in the correct direction.

Allie followed the count through the cold hallway, into a comfortable study. The dark wood panelling was complemented by deep red velvet drapes and furnishings. He walked to a low table and poured her a coffee from the still steaming pot. Scattered about were several open wooden tea chests containing much of the bric-a-brac from around the study. The bookshelf stood forlorn and empty, all the books nestled in another chest, waiting for its lid.

“Leaving?” Allie asked, dropping into an overstuffed chair.

“I have been here long enough,” he replied. “My business is done and plans have been set in motion, so now it is time to re-join the brighter lights of Europe.”

Allie wondered what assignment kept a Reaper operative holed up in the depths of the Highlands for over a year. Converting a castle and a private airship indicated significant financial investment in this little venture. In itself not unusual for Reaper projects, but something gnawed at her. Gregor working in the background didn’t fit the normal grandiose scale of Reaper missions.

What if he’s not working solely for a guild? Could he have other employers?

Allie had an itch at the back of her brain, trying to pin down whose hand was at work. It added to her concern over the Whisperers’ motives. She knew she had to figure it all out before time ran out, but the strands were so layered she couldn’t make sense of the pattern. Her father sent her here to learn something, but what?

“You said yesterday you might know of another business opportunity for me?” She sipped at her coffee, giving Illyich a coy stare over the rim of the cup.

A cold, calculating gaze settled on her. Allie concentrated on her coffee, letting the silence hang.

He picked up the lid for the crate of books and placed it on top, his short fingernails drummed on the thin wood. “The world is divided in two halves; guild and noble. Sometimes the most lucrative jobs cross the boundary.”